Video narrative of the restoration

A brief film on the work process that went on during the restoration with guided narrative. This restoration was done without regard to costs and had no cut corners in the process. More complete imagery narrative can be found below the video should you choose to dive deeper.

Beginning The Process

The always humbling process of stripping paint was the first task. This customer preferred his dream car to be Mercedes Benz 180 Silver, a classic look for a vehicle of the times. Frankly, its never a poor idea to go silver on a Mercedes.

The Interior Teardown

The interior was in need of a bit of care after teardown, so we got to work on correction the small odds & ends, thus ensuring it was cleaned up for a new era of this vehicles life. The upholstery upon arrival was less than adequate for the circumstances, so in this case our client asked for something that would provide a bit more presence than a standard black or beige. Ultimately he went with a refined red, which you will see in the interior rebuild portion of this narrative

The Engine Rebuild

The engine was not exactly a showpiece upon arrival, but it was running. The engine was removed prior to the stripping of the original paint and disassembled. As mentioned before, the rebuild was done without cutting corners, rather the client told us they wanted a reliable daily driver with any bells and whistles necessary to keep the car running for decades to come. After assessments from our lead mechanic, some parts were salvaged and others were scrapped for the rebuild of this engine.

Gearbox

With some less-than perfect cogs in the gearbox, repairs were conducted to make certain this 4-speed manual was a smooth operator. In totality, the transmission all together was rebuilt and left our shop in perfect nick.

Interior Rebuild

The portion of the vehicle where changes are the most dramatic is arguably the interior. In this case, we had the privilege of fitting a finely refined but still enthusiastic red which would age like fine wine over time. All of the instruments were tuned up and rechromed if needed as well to put a bow on the interior as a whole.

Final Details

These shots are based on the smaller things to consider in a final product. The shine of a paint color, straightness and alignment of the panels, and smaller details like the Pagoda’s signature headlamp notches. All of these small items were capture and ensured to be correct before the vehicle could be given the green light to head out the door.